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A Trip to the Grocery Store

One of the fun little things to do when abroad, as most any traveler will tell you, is to peruse the items in a grocery store. So I’m taking you on a trip to see just a sample of the items in a typical Australian market. Keeping it light this time, folks.

Walking down the cereal aisle, I recognized a familiar box. Hey, you say “raisin,” I say “sultana!” Some day, I’m going to look into how such two totally different words developed in the English language for the same dried fruit.

Something about Australian eggs does not require refrigeration…Also, I wish I’d taken a close-up so you could see the eggs marked as “caged” as well as “cage-free.” No room for doubt there.

This one’s obligatory: what self-respecting Aussie pantry would be complete without Vegemite?

On the rare occasion that fruit is shipped all the way from the U.S., the price reflects it. (The vast majority of fruit is grown in Australia, though a recent news expose just uncovered the exploitation of migrant labor in harvesting said fruit.)

Variation in language use is one of my favorite discoveries. Most items labeled “dessicated” in the U.S. would not be sitting peacably on a supermarket shelf.

Tea (or coffee) hour is awarded its due respect with the wide variety of biscuits available.

No running to the store because you’ve run out of milkwhen you can have a supply of ultra-pasteurized milk waiting on your pantry shelf.

First time I saw “Halloumi” in a restaurant entree description, I had no idea what it referred to. Turns out it’s this lovely Cypriot cheese that is widely available here.

This is one of my favorite: why bother with a name like “cheddar” when you can call it what it is: Tasty!

It’s rare to find chicken or meat that is not marked as either free-range, antibiotic free, or the like.

Then, of course, there are the things you’d never see in a U.S. grocery store…

…and–full disclosure–I’ve only seen this particular burger once, and can’t say how popular it is.

That was fun. And to make sure we leave on a happy note, moving ramps to the car park are cart-friendly (the wheels lock onto the ramp by some brilliantly simple little mechanism).

Well you have to at least taste the camel burgers at least once. The tea biscuits look very exciting. 🙂 How's the tea? More importantly, how's the coffee? Thank you for sharing… keep on sending the glimpses into your Aussie life! It is so nice.